In today’s news and commentary, ICE holds back on some work site raids as unions mobilize; a Maryland judge approves a $400M settlement for poultry processing workers in an antitrust case; and an OMB directive pushes federal agencies to use union PLAs. 

On Saturday, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration told Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to pause raids on the agricultural industry, hotels, and restaurants. Pressure from farmers and the leisure and hospitality industries seems to have precipitated the shift. The new guidance does not rule out the targeting of other industries, such as the garment factory raid in Los Angeles that prompted major protests. As ICE raids have ramped up, unions have increasingly appeared on the frontlines to protest and document raids via rapid response networks. Unions have also signed contracts with protections for undocumented workers, offered legal assistance to workers, and litigated on behalf of immigrants targeted by the raids. 

Meanwhile, in Maryland, a federal judge granted final approval to a settlement worth almost $400 million in an antitrust wage-fixing case brought on behalf of poultry processing workers. In Jien et al. v. Perdue Farms, et al, the plaintiffs alleged that Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods, Butterbaul, and fifteen other poultry processing companies had conspired for years to drive down workers’ wages. The poultry industry is well-known for grueling and dangerous work and many of its workers draw from highly vulnerable and marginalized groups. 

Lastly, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought recently supported the use of union project labor agreements on federal construction projects. In an unexpected memo sent to executive branch agencies, Vought indicated that the administration is not rescinding a Biden-era rule mandating PLAs for large, publicly funded projects. The memo comes after multiple court cases suing federal agencies for following PLA-avoidant practices. Although the new directive does include an exception to the PLA requirement when an agency determines that a PLA could “inhibit competition,” the new OMB guidance came as a surprise to many in the construction and building industry who had expected the PLA requirement to be scrapped altogether.